Actual People
Kit Zauhar
This film will also be available online on our VoD platform from March 29 to April 10, 2022. Please note: This film will only be available in Germany.
»What are your plans after college?« This seemingly innocuous question fills Riley, an Asian-American woman in her early 20s just a week away from graduation in New York City, with gnawing dread. A supposedly momentous event on the cusp of adulthood, she should be instilled with a sense of accomplishment and purpose, with the promise of success – at least that’s how this milestone is often sold to a generation these days. And therein lies the poignancy of this fresh, humorous and, at times, unapologetic story about college life – perhaps more aptly, about »post-grad depression« – ultimately another expression for the predestined unattainability of the American Dream writ large. Riley is beset by a kind of existential ›quarterlife‹ crisis. One course away from the finishing line, from not having to disappoint her parents, she is now uncharacteristically failing, distracted by parties and boys, one-night stands and banal millennial banter. She relies heavily on these experiences as (mis)guiding, self-defining crutches. As excuses for why she just can’t get her shit together. Writer-director Kit Zauhar, who plays Riley confidently and with improvisational verve, deftly captures the Gen Y mood and wraps it in an relatable, almost familiar uneasy feeling that could surface at any time in life when the going gets tough and you can’t find your way.
Guest: Kit Zauhar
This film has been nominated for the Audience Award endowed with 1,000 euro. Please vote after watching the movie.
You can find an overview of all nominated films here.

Kit Zauhar
Kit Zauhar is an Asian-American writer, director, and actress from Philadelphia, currently living in Chinatown, New York City. Her first feature, Actual People, world-premiered at Locarno Film Festival in summer 2021 and had its North American premiere at Slamdance in January 2022. Her writing ranges from creative non-fiction to science-fiction screenplays. Her work deals with topics of intimacy, desire, anxiety, and humiliation.
Films by Kit Zauhar
Helicopter 2016